Horning's Hustle - rigid or full squisher?

I'm busting my mountain bike racing cherry next weekend at Horning's and had been planning to ride my Fuel EX7. When my wife started riding a few weeks ago I began riding my Homegrown more, which is rigid. I'd been spending so much more time with the Trek that I forgot what a fun bike the Homegrown is to ride. It's so much lighter and snappier, and I don't miss the suspension as much as I expected.

I've raced cross up at Horning's but have no idea what the xc course will be like. I'm racing beginner, have okay technical skills for a roadie, and climb like I have a Camelbak full of bricks. Is it a course that heavily favors full suspension or can a rigid bike cope just fine? One of my teamates is racing on her cross bike, so she's definitely a bigger man than I am.

I am not sure what the course was for the cyclo-cross race there, but the XC race last year wasn't that technical of a course. It had 2 steep, muddy as hell downhills that were tough because of the mud, but not technical. The rest of the course was fairly smooth; maybe a little bumpy because of the mud and grass. If you are comfortable on a rigid bike I think that would be fine. I rode a hardtail with 3" in the front last year and was fine.

Cool. The cx course was really tame, a bit of singletrack, bumpy meadows, gravel and some climbing through the woods. I thought it was pretty mountain bikey for a cross course actually. I'm going to pre-ride on Saturday but I'd prefer to ride the bike I plan to race. At least this gives me an excuse to buy new tires, 'cuz one can never have enough of those.

Originally Posted by CaptainCogset

I am not sure what the course was for the cyclo-cross race there, but the XC race last year wasn't that technical of a course. It had 2 steep, muddy as hell downhills that were tough because of the mud, but not technical. The rest of the course was fairly smooth; maybe a little bumpy because of the mud and grass. If you are comfortable on a rigid bike I think that would be fine. I rode a hardtail with 3" in the front last year and was fine.

Now that its over, we all can see any bike was fine for it. I ran my rigid single 29r, and spent alot of time walking, but i was walking along fsr, hard tails, cross, all of em. Im glad we all survived...

How 'bout that mud? I ended up getting a 29er earlier in the week so I rode that. I almost wish I'd mounted some cross tires instead of the Rampages I was running. I've never been so happy to see a finish line, that's for sure.

Were you the dude...

Originally Posted by ratspike

How 'bout that mud? I ended up getting a 29er earlier in the week so I rode that. I almost wish I'd mounted some cross tires instead of the Rampages I was running. I've never been so happy to see a finish line, that's for sure.

that raced next to me most of the time? I was on the orange FS Kona King (horrible bike choice) in an S & M jersey. Those steeps combined with the mud must have sucked on the SS.
I did all 3 laps in Sport and was wiped at the end. I was planning for a 1.5 hour race and ended up racing quite a bit longer than that! My bike easily had an extra 10# added to it. The FS sucked as it has many more places for mud to gather....probably my second hardest race ever. I wish it would have rained more to thin out the peanut butter clay! In the end, I guess we can all be thankful for one helluva workout!

that raced next to me most of the time? I was on the orange FS Kona King (horrible bike choice) in an S & M jersey. Those steeps combined with the mud must have sucked on the SS.
I did all 3 laps in Sport and was wiped at the end. I was planning for a 1.5 hour race and ended up racing quite a bit longer than that! My bike easily had an extra 10# added to it. The FS sucked as it has many more places for mud to gather....probably my second hardest race ever. I wish it would have rained more to thin out the peanut butter clay! In the end, I guess we can all be thankful for one helluva workout!

Nah, that definitely wasn't me but I probably moved out of your way at some point. I raced beginner and only saw the S&M crew as they passed me. I was one of the Finnegan's jerseys, but the only one in beginners. I seriously wasn't prepared for that super thick glop along the back stretch before the creek crossing. When we prerode on Saturday I felt like I had a decent handle on the course and would be able to ride the descents, but on Sunday it was a totally different story. After a spectacular endo on that loooong downhill after the climb up the road I decided it was time to walk the descents for the remainder of the race.

Fun stuff though. Hopefully Mudslinger will be a little more bike race and less hike-a-bike.

Mudslinger is always muddy...

Originally Posted by ratspike

Nah, that definitely wasn't me but I probably moved out of your way at some point. I raced beginner and only saw the S&M crew as they passed me. I was one of the Finnegan's jerseys, but the only one in beginners. I seriously wasn't prepared for that super thick glop along the back stretch before the creek crossing. When we prerode on Saturday I felt like I had a decent handle on the course and would be able to ride the descents, but on Sunday it was a totally different story. After a spectacular endo on that loooong downhill after the climb up the road I decided it was time to walk the descents for the remainder of the race.

Fun stuff though. Hopefully Mudslinger will be a little more bike race and less hike-a-bike.

but I don't ever remember it having the peanut butter-type mud. You usually finish the race ccovered in mud because it is wetter, and isn't clay. There are a few short sections that may require some hike-a-bike, but not like Hornung's. You will have fun on the 'slinger course, it's a good one. It's more of a mtb course, and less of a cross course.